dissertation on colour psychology

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Color and psychological functioning: a review of theoretical and empirical work

In the past decade there has been increased interest in research on color and psychological functioning. Important advances have been made in theoretical work and empirical work, but there are also important weaknesses in both areas that must be addressed for the literature to continue to develop apace. In this article, I provide brief theoretical and empirical reviews of research in this area, in each instance beginning with a historical background and recent advancements, and proceeding to an evaluation focused on weaknesses that provide guidelines for future research. I conclude by reiterating that the literature on color and psychological functioning is at a nascent stage of development, and by recommending patience and prudence regarding conclusions about theory, findings, and real-world application.

The past decade has seen enhanced interest in research in the area of color and psychological functioning. Progress has been made on both theoretical and empirical fronts, but there are also weaknesses on both of these fronts that must be attended to for this research area to continue to make progress. In the following, I briefly review both advances and weaknesses in the literature on color and psychological functioning.

Theoretical Work

Background and recent developments.

Color has fascinated scholars for millennia ( Sloane, 1991 ; Gage, 1993 ). Theorizing on color and psychological functioning has been present since Goethe (1810) penned his Theory of Colors , in which he linked color categories (e.g., the “plus” colors of yellow, red–yellow, yellow–red) to emotional responding (e.g., warmth, excitement). Goldstein (1942) expanded on Goethe’s intuitions, positing that certain colors (e.g., red, yellow) produce systematic physiological reactions manifest in emotional experience (e.g., negative arousal), cognitive orientation (e.g., outward focus), and overt action (e.g., forceful behavior). Subsequent theorizing derived from Goldstein’s ideas has focused on wavelength, positing that longer wavelength colors feel arousing or warm, whereas shorter wavelength colors feel relaxing or cool ( Nakashian, 1964 ; Crowley, 1993 ). Other conceptual statements about color and psychological functioning have focused on general associations that people have to colors and their corresponding influence on downstream affect, cognition, and behavior (e.g., black is associated with aggression and elicits aggressive behavior; Frank and Gilovich, 1988 ; Soldat et al., 1997 ). Finally, much writing on color and psychological functioning has been completely atheoretical, focused exclusively on finding answers to applied questions (e.g., “What wall color facilitates worker alertness and productivity?”). The aforementioned theories and conceptual statements continue to motivate research on color and psychological functioning. However, several other promising theoretical frameworks have also emerged in the past decade, and I review these frameworks in the following.

Hill and Barton (2005) noted that in many non-human animals, including primate species, dominance in aggressive encounters (i.e., superior physical condition) is signaled by the bright red of oxygenated blood visible on highly vascularized bare skin. Artificial red (e.g., on leg bands) has likewise been shown to signal dominance in non-human animals, mimicking the natural physiological process ( Cuthill et al., 1997 ). In humans in aggressive encounters, a testosterone surge produces visible reddening on the face and fear leads to pallor ( Drummond and Quay, 2001 ; Levenson, 2003 ). Hill and Barton (2005) posited that the parallel between humans and non-humans present at the physiological level may extend to artificial stimuli, such that wearing red in sport contests may convey dominance and lead to a competitive advantage.

Other theorists have also utilized a comparative approach in positing links between skin coloration and the evaluation of conspecifics. Changizi et al. (2006) and Changizi (2009) contend that trichromatic vision evolved to enable primates, including humans, to detect subtle changes in blood flow beneath the skin that carry important information about the emotional state of the conspecific. Increased red can convey anger, embarrassment, or sexual arousal, whereas increased bluish or greenish tint can convey illness or poor physiological condition. Thus, visual sensitivity to these color modulations facilitates various forms of social interaction. In similar fashion, Stephen et al. (2009) and Stephen and McKeegan (2010) propose that perceivers use information about skin coloration (perhaps particularly from the face, Tan and Stephen, 2012 ) to make inferences about the attractiveness, health, and dominance of conspecifics. Redness (from blood oxygenization) and yellowness (from carotenoids) are both seen as facilitating positive judgments. Fink et al. (2006) and Fink and Matts (2007) posit that the homogeneity of skin coloration is an important factor in evaluating the age, attractiveness, and health of faces.

Elliot and Maier (2012) have proposed color-in-context theory, which draws on social learning, as well as biology. Some responses to color stimuli are presumed to be solely due to the repeated pairing of color and particular concepts, messages, and experiences. Others, however, are presumed to represent a biologically engrained predisposition that is reinforced and shaped by social learning. Through this social learning, color associations can be extended beyond natural bodily processes (e.g., blood flow modulations) to objects in close proximity to the body (e.g., clothes, accessories). Thus, for example, red may not only increase attractiveness evaluations when viewed on the face, but also when viewed on a shirt or dress. As implied by the name of the theory, the physical and psychological context in which color is perceived is thought to influence its meaning and, accordingly, responses to it. Thus, blue on a ribbon is positive (indicating first place), but blue on a piece of meat is negative (indicating rotten), and a red shirt may enhance the attractiveness of a potential mate (red = sex/romance), but not of a person evaluating one’s competence (red = failure/danger).

Meier and Robinson (2005) and Meier (in press ) have posited a conceptual metaphor theory of color. From this perspective, people talk and think about abstract concepts in concrete terms grounded in perceptual experience (i.e., they use metaphors) to help them understand and navigate their social world ( Lakoff and Johnson, 1999 ). Thus, anger entails reddening of the face, so anger is metaphorically described as “seeing red,” and positive emotions and experiences are often depicted in terms of lightness (rather than darkness), so lightness is metaphorically linked to good (“seeing the light”) rather than bad (“in the dark”). These metaphoric associations are presumed to have implications for important outcomes such as morality judgments (e.g., white things are viewed as pure) and stereotyping (e.g., dark faces are viewed more negatively).

For many years it has been known that light directly influences physiology and increases arousal (see Cajochen, 2007 , for a review), but recently theorists have posited that such effects are wavelength dependent. Blue light, in particular, is posited to activate the melanopsin photoreceptor system which, in turn, activates the brain structures involved in sub-cortical arousal and higher-order attentional processing ( Cajochen et al., 2005 ; Lockley et al., 2006 ). As such, exposure to blue light is expected to facilitate alertness and enhance performance on tasks requiring sustained attention.

Evaluation and Recommendations

Drawing on recent theorizing in evolutionary psychology, emotion science, retinal physiology, person perception, and social cognition, the aforementioned conceptualizations represent important advances to the literature on color and psychological functioning. Nevertheless, theory in this area remains at a nascent level of development, and the following weaknesses may be identified.

First, the focus of theoretical work in this area is either extremely specific or extremely general. A precise conceptual proposition such as red signals dominance and leads to competitive advantage in sports ( Hill and Barton, 2005 ) is valuable in that it can be directly translated into a clear, testable hypothesis; however, it is not clear how this specific hypothesis connects to a broader understanding of color–performance relations in achievement settings more generally. On the other end of the spectrum, a general conceptualization such as color-in-context theory ( Elliot and Maier, 2012 ) is valuable in that it offers several widely applicable premises; however, these premises are only vaguely suggestive of precise hypotheses in specific contexts. What is needed are mid-level theoretical frameworks that comprehensively, yet precisely explain and predict links between color and psychological functioning in specific contexts (for emerging developments, see Pazda and Greitemeyer, in press ; Spence, in press ; Stephen and Perrett, in press ).

Second, the extant theoretical work is limited in scope in terms of range of hues, range of color properties, and direction of influence. Most theorizing has focused on one hue, red, which is understandable given its prominence in nature, on the body, and in society ( Changizi, 2009 ; Elliot and Maier, 2014 ); however, other hues also carry important associations that undoubtedly have downstream effects (e.g., blue: Labrecque and Milne, 2012 ; green: Akers et al., 2012 ). Color has three basic properties: hue, lightness, and chroma ( Fairchild, 2013 ). Variation in any or all of these properties could influence downstream affect, cognition, or behavior, yet only hue is considered in most theorizing (most likely because experientially, it is the most salient color property). Lightness and chroma also undoubtedly have implications for psychological functioning (e.g., lightness: Kareklas et al., 2014 ; chroma: Lee et al., 2013 ); lightness has received some attention within conceptual metaphor theory ( Meier, in press ; see also Prado-León and Rosales-Cinco, 2011 ), but chroma has been almost entirely overlooked, as has the issue of combinations of hue, lightness, and chroma. Finally, most theorizing has focused on color as an independent variable rather than a dependent variable; however, it is also likely that many situational and intrapersonal factors influence color perception (e.g., situational: Bubl et al., 2009 ; intrapersonal: Fetterman et al., 2015 ).

Third, theorizing to date has focused primarily on main effects, with only a modicum of attention allocated to the important issue of moderation. As research literatures develop and mature, they progress from a sole focus on “is” questions (“Does X influence Y?”) to additionally considering “when” questions (“Under what conditions does X influence Y and under what conditions does X not influence Y?”). These “second generation” questions ( Zanna and Fazio, 1982 , p. 283) can seem less exciting and even deflating in that they posit boundary conditions that constrain the generalizability of an effect. Nevertheless, this step is invaluable in that it adds conceptual precision and clarity, and begins to address the issue of real-world applicability. All color effects undoubtedly depend on certain conditions – culture, gender, age, type of task, variant of color, etc. – and acquiring an understanding of these conditions will represent an important marker of maturity for this literature (for movement in this direction, see Schwarz and Singer, 2013 ; Tracy and Beall, 2014 ; Bertrams et al., 2015 ; Buechner et al., in press ; Young, in press ). Another, more succinct, way to state this third weakness is that theorizing in this area needs to take context, in all its forms, more seriously.

Empirical Work

Empirical work on color and psychological functioning dates back to the late 19th century ( Féré, 1887 ; see Pressey, 1921 , for a review). A consistent feature of this work, from its inception to the past decade, is that it has been fraught with major methodological problems that have precluded rigorous testing and clear interpretation ( O’Connor, 2011 ). One problem has been a failure to attend to rudimentary scientific procedures such as experimenter blindness to condition, identifying, and excluding color deficient participants, and standardizing the duration of color presentation or exposure. Another problem has been a failure to specify and control for color at the spectral level in manipulations. Without such specification, it is impossible to know what precise combination of color properties was investigated, and without such control, the confounding of focal and non-focal color properties is inevitable ( Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1990 ; Valdez and Mehrabian, 1994 ). Yet another problem has been the use of underpowered samples. This problem, shared across scientific disciplines ( Maxwell, 2004 ), can lead to Type I errors, Type II errors, and inflated effect sizes ( Fraley and Vazire, 2014 ; Murayama et al., 2014 ). Together, these methodological problems have greatly hampered progress in this area.

Although some of the aforementioned problems remain (see “Evaluation and Recommendations” below), others have been rectified in recent work. This, coupled with advances in theory development, has led to a surge in empirical activity. In the following, I review the diverse areas in which color work has been conducted in the past decade, and the findings that have emerged. Space considerations require me to constrain this review to a brief mention of central findings within each area. I focus on findings with humans (for reviews of research with non-human animals, see Higham and Winters, in press ; Setchell, in press ) that have been obtained in multiple (at least five) independent labs. Table ​ Table1 1 provides a summary, as well as representative examples and specific references.

Research on color and psychological functioning.

In research on color and selective attention, red stimuli have been shown to receive an attentional advantage (see Folk, in press , for a review). Research on color and alertness has shown that blue light increases subjective alertness and performance on attention-based tasks (see Chellappa et al., 2011 , for a review). Studies on color and athletic performance have linked wearing red to better performance and perceived performance in sport competitions and tasks (see Maier et al., in press , for a review). In research on color and intellectual performance, viewing red prior to a challenging cognitive task has been shown to undermine performance (see Shi et al., 2015 , for a review). Research focused on color and aggressiveness/dominance evaluation has shown that viewing red on self or other increases appraisals of aggressiveness and dominance (see Krenn, 2014 , for a review). Empirical work on color and avoidance motivation has linked viewing red in achievement contexts to increased caution and avoidance (see Elliot and Maier, 2014 , for a review). In research on color and attraction, viewing red on or near a female has been shown to enhance attraction in heterosexual males (see Pazda and Greitemeyer, in press , for a review). Research on color and store/company evaluation has shown that blue on stores/logos increases quality and trustworthiness appraisals (see Labrecque and Milne, 2012 , for a review). Finally, empirical work on color and eating/drinking has shown that red influences food and beverage perception and consumption (see Spence, in press , for a review).

The aforementioned findings represent important contributions to the literature on color and psychological functioning, and highlight the multidisciplinary nature of research in this area. Nevertheless, much like the extant theoretical work, the extant empirical work remains at a nascent level of development, due, in part, to the following weaknesses.

First, although in some research in this area color properties are controlled for at the spectral level, in most research it (still) is not. Color control is typically done improperly at the device (rather than the spectral) level, is impossible to implement (e.g., in web-based platform studies), or is ignored altogether. Color control is admittedly difficult, as it requires technical equipment for color assessment and presentation, as well as the expertise to use it. Nevertheless, careful color control is essential if systematic scientific work is to be conducted in this area. Findings from uncontrolled research can be informative in initial explorations of color hypotheses, but such work is inherently fraught with interpretational ambiguity ( Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1990 ; Elliot and Maier, 2014 ) that must be subsequently addressed.

Second, color perception is not only a function of lightness, chroma, and hue, but also of factors such as viewing distance and angle, amount and type of ambient light, and presence of other colors in the immediate background and general environmental surround ( Hunt and Pointer, 2011 ; Brainard and Radonjić, 2014 ; Fairchild, 2015 ). In basic color science research (e.g., on color physics, color physiology, color appearance modeling, etcetera; see Gegenfurtner and Ennis, in press ; Johnson, in press ; Stockman and Brainard, in press ), these factors are carefully specified and controlled for in order to establish standardized participant viewing conditions. These factors have been largely ignored and allowed to vary in research on color and psychological functioning, with unknown consequences. An important next step for research in this area is to move to incorporate these more rigorous standardization procedures widely utilized by basic color scientists. With regard to both this and the aforementioned weakness, it should be acknowledged that exact and complete control is not actually possible in color research, given the multitude of factors that influence color perception ( Committee on Colorimetry of the Optical Society of America, 1953 ) and our current level of knowledge about and ability to control them ( Fairchild, 2015 ). As such, the standard that must be embraced and used as a guideline in this work is to control color properties and viewing conditions to the extent possible given current technology, and to keep up with advances in the field that will increasingly afford more precise and efficient color management.

Third, although in some research in this area, large, fully powered samples are used, much of the research remains underpowered. This is a problem in general, but it is particularly a problem when the initial demonstration of an effect is underpowered (e.g., Elliot and Niesta, 2008 ), because initial work is often used as a guide for determining sample size in subsequent work (both heuristically and via power analysis). Underpowered samples commonly produce overestimated effect size estimates ( Ioannidis, 2008 ), and basing subsequent sample sizes on such estimates simply perpetuates the problem. Small sample sizes can also lead researchers to prematurely conclude that a hypothesis is disconfirmed, overlooking a potentially important advance ( Murayama et al., 2014 ). Findings from small sampled studies should be considered preliminary; running large sampled studies with carefully controlled color stimuli is essential if a robust scientific literature is to be developed. Furthermore, as the “evidentiary value movement” ( Finkel et al., 2015 ) makes inroads in the empirical sciences, color scientists would do well to be at the leading edge of implementing such rigorous practices as publically archiving research materials and data, designating exploratory from confirmatory analyses, supplementing or even replacing significant testing with “new statistics” ( Cumming, 2014 ), and even preregistering research protocols and analyses (see Finkel et al., 2015 , for an overview).

In both reviewing advances in and identifying weaknesses of the literature on color and psychological functioning, it is important to bear in mind that the existing theoretical and empirical work is at an early stage of development. It is premature to offer any bold theoretical statements, definitive empirical pronouncements, or impassioned calls for application; rather, it is best to be patient and to humbly acknowledge that color psychology is a uniquely complex area of inquiry ( Kuehni, 2012 ; Fairchild, 2013 ) that is only beginning to come into its own. Findings from color research can be provocative and media friendly, and the public (and the field as well) can be tempted to reach conclusions before the science is fully in place. There is considerable promise in research on color and psychological functioning, but considerably more theoretical and empirical work needs to be done before the full extent of this promise can be discerned and, hopefully, fulfilled.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Colour psychology'

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Dunwoody, Lynn. "The psychophysiology of colour." Thesis, University of Ulster, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.385815.

Kusnir, Maria Flor. "Automatic letter-colour associations in non-synaesthetes and their relation to grapheme-colour synaesthesia." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2014. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4922/.

Powell, Georgina. "Conscious perception of illusory colour." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2012. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/56822/.

Mikellides, B. "Emotional and behavioural reaction to colour in the built environment." Thesis, Oxford Brookes University, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.233455.

Akbay, Saadet. "Multi-attitudinal Approaches Of Colour Perception: Construing Eleven Basic Colours By Repertory Grid Technique." Phd thesis, METU, 2013. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12615567/index.pdf.

Kleintjes, Sharon Rose. "Black clinical psychology interns at a 'white' university : their experience of colour during training." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13536.

Maguire, Moira S. "Pattern contingent colour aftereffects (PCCAEs) and the menstrual cycle." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.318806.

Franklin, Anna. "The origin and nature of categorical perception of colour." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2003. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/843703/.

Sharman, Rebecca J. "Cue combination of colour and luminance in edge detection." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2014. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14029/.

Pringle, Hayley. "Cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease : an investigation using colour tasks." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2002. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/843756/.

Cooke, Jacqueline. "The implications of stimulus colour consistency for theories of negative priming." Thesis, University of Essex, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.248637.

Davis, Stephanie. "Being a queer and/or trans person of colour in the UK : psychology, intersectionality and subjectivity." Thesis, University of Brighton, 2017. https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/f9b518c5-e8b9-4a37-88b1-b2e4320f4f57.

Mbatha, Slindile. "Understanding skin colour: Exploring colourism and its articulation among black and coloured students." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24914.

Vernon, David J. "Effects of colour transformations on implicit and explicit tests of memory for natural objects." Thesis, University of Kent, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342269.

Jadva, Vasanti. "Sex differences in 12, 18 and 24-old-month infants' preference for colour, toys and shape." Thesis, City, University of London, 2006. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/18934/.

Williams, Kate Elizabeth. "The representation of colour in episodic object memory : evidence from a recognition-induced forgetting paradigm." Thesis, Swansea University, 2014. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42652.

Romberg, Minna, and Måsén Petra Johansson. "Är det dags att byta färg? : Vad tjänar varumärken på att bryta mot etablerade färgnormer?" Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för ekonomi och företagande, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-16894.

Whitehead, Ross David. "Dietary effects on skin colour : appearance-based incentives to improve fruit and vegetable consumption." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3371.

Pedroso, Dulce. "Still I Ride : How Women of Colour are challenging discourses in and through Cycling." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Institutionen för konst, kultur och kommunikation (K3), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-46112.

Crosby, Marianne. "Color psychology and graphic design /." Lynchburg, VA : Liberty University, 2007. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu.

Kronvall, Alf. "Perceptionsanalys av tre webbplatser som använder Flash : skillnader i syn på färg och form bland kvinnliga och manliga Internetanvändare i olika åldersgrupper." Thesis, Södertörn University College, School of Communication, Technology and Design, 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-340.

Denna uppsats undersöker hur kvinnor och män i olika åldersgrupper förhåller sig till Flashapplikationer utifrån deras uppfattning om färg och form. Deltagarna som består av skolungdomar, nyexaminerade studenter och pensionärer har genom en enkät och en semistrukturerad intervjuform fått redogöra för sina intryck av Santa Marias, Eccos och Indiskas webbplatser.

Undersökningsdeltagarna identifierar Flashelementen genom deras rörelser. Deltagarna vill välja om de ska se animationer och andra applikationer skapade i Flash för att inte tappa koncentrationen från övrigt innehåll. Studenterna i undersökningen har en mer kritisk hållning till färgval, formgivning och användandet av Flash än övriga. Kvinnorna i undersökningen har en mer liberal hållning till färg och form än männen.

This essay explores how men and women in different age groups experiences Flashapplications, depending on their perception of colour and form. The participants, teenagers at a junior high school, students who just have finished their degree and senior citizens have by answering a form and by taking part in a semi structured interview been able to express their opinion of the following Scandinavian web pages: Santa Maria, Ecco and Indiska.

The participants identify the flash objects by their movements. The participants want to be able to choose weather or not to see the animations and other applications created in Flash, to avoid loosing focus on the other information the trademarks wants to express. The students have the most critical approach to colour, form and the use of Flash objects. The female participants have a more liberal approach to colour and form then the male participants.

Popelka, Milan. "Využití metody barvově slovních asociací v marketingu." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2011. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-162210.

Brockbank-Chasey, Samuel. "Of colors and words : perceptual and semantic influences in the cognitive processing of color." Thesis, Bordeaux, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019BORD0353.

PORTER, CORNELIA PAULINE. "SOCIALIZATION, BLACK SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN AND THE COLOR CASTE HIERARCHY (SOCIAL COGNITION, PSYCHOLOGY, NURSING)." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/188010.

Gray, Richard. "Synaesthesia : an essay in philosophical psychology." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/1723.

Weiß, David [Verfasser]. "Determinants of colour constancy / David Weiß." Gießen : Universitätsbibliothek, 2017. http://d-nb.info/1140435396/34.

Shepherd, Alex. "Pyschophysical studies of contrast colours." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.361680.

Rico, Lynessa. "The Relationship Between Personality Type and Color Preference For Color Combinations." Thesis, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10096887.

The purpose of this paper will be to discuss current research in color preference and personality types and add new value to the literature by evaluating the relationship between personality type and color preference for color combinations from a consumer behavior perspective. In order to accomplish the aims of this work, a quantitative color preference survey was created and administered to 97 participants to determine individual color preference for analogous, complimentary, identical, and random color combinations. In addition, participants completed the 16 PF personality assessment to determine the personality factor scores of Extraversion and Independence. The results of this study suggest relationships between the personality types of Extroversion and Independence and color preference for random color combinations. These findings add value to color and personality research and can be strategically applied in a business organization’s branding, product design, marketing, or sales training efforts to positively influence consumer-purchasing decisions.

Carney, Ovidia Cornelia Blough. "Effects of age and ethnicity on color preference and on association of color with symbol and with emotion." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2001. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1882.

Violette, Aimee Noelle. "Evolutionary Order of Basic Color Term Acquisition Not Recapitulated by English or Somali Observers in Non-Lexical Hierarchical Sorting Task." The Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1545342701702227.

Bronder, Ellen Cecelia. "AN INTERVENTION TO REDUCE COLOR-BLIND RACIAL ATTITUDES IN WHITE COLLEGE STUDENTS." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1468840593.

Deshpande, Prutha S. "A Cross-cultural Investigation of the Cognitive Salience of Perceptual Color Dimensions." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1534689189718178.

Anderson, Diarra D. "Color and Type Effects on Tone, Likelihood of Purchase & Attraction." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/482.

Lange, Ryan. "Color Naming, Multidimensional Scaling, and Unique Hue Selections in English and Somali Speakers Do Not Show a Whorfian Effect." The Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1449158554.

Carollo, Olivia L. "Effectiveness of Warning Labels on Fashion Advertisements in Combating Body Dissatisfaction Among Women of Color." Thesis, Roosevelt University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3687622.

Media outlets perpetuate an ultra-thin feminine ideal which has been linked to body dissatisfaction among women (Lew, Mann, Myers, Taylor, & Bower, 2007). The present study focused on the inclusion of warning labels, similar to those in cigarette ads, on advertisements. Previous research indicates that these labels might have a protective factor for women's body satisfaction, but results are inconsistent (Slater, Tiggemann, Firth, & Hawkins, 2012; Tiggemann, Slater, Bury, Hawkins, & Firth, 2013). The purpose of this study was to resolve inconsistencies from past research and extend the findings to Women of Color (WOC). Participants of this study included 161 female college students at a Midwestern university. Results indicated that warning labels may serve to decrease body dissatisfaction within both White Women and WOC. Implications for practice were also discussed.

Gheiratmand, Mina. "Orientation tuning in human color vision at detection threshold: a psychophysical approach." Thesis, McGill University, 2014. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=123169.

Khurram, Uzma. "Existential and Spiritual Support Group for Women of Color in Midlife Transition." Thesis, Saint Mary's College of California, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10272210.

This thesis presented a model of an existential and psychoeducational support group that integrates spirituality to support women of color as they go through the midlife transition and into middle adulthood. Women can experience increased stress, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation due to the various challenges of midlife. This paper reviewed the research that examined how women of color in the United States are often marginalized, with limited access to culturally relevant psychological health care services; in addition, these women also face a cultural stigma attached to seeking counseling. The review of literature suggests that counselors should be informed of the challenges and of the spiritual coping resources of midlife women of color. The proposed 20-week psychotherapy group aims to support women by maximizing a sense of community, self-awareness, self-growth, and freedom, given the limitations of their environment. Further research is recommended to assess the effectiveness of this approach.

Galvan, Elizabeth. "Detracking: Facilitating the Achievement of First-Generation Students of Color." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1295.

Becker, Cordula. "Subjective visual experiences of colour and form induced by temporally modulated light." Diss., lmu, 2005. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-41791.

Highnote, Susan M. "Color discrimination of small targets /." Diss., Connect to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC IP addresses, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p3089477.

Roberson, Rian A. "Between the Margins| Biracial Identity Development in a Nation Divided by the Color Line." Thesis, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10745190.

The legacy of slavery that included all individuals of African heritage to identify as Black has contributed to centuries of misinformation about the unique experiences of many Black/White biracial individuals. Initial models depicting biracial identity development focused on marginalization and deficit while overlooking the relative privilege many Black/White biracial individuals experienced. As the biracial and multiracial population has grown significantly in the latter half of the 20th century, social scientists have attempted to create a biracial identity development model that focuses on the unique experiences of these individuals. The purpose of this thesis is to provide historical background for the experiences of Black/White biracial Americans and to examine current psychological models depicting to the experiences of this population using a heuristic approach to qualitative research. This thesis also addresses Black/White biracial identities as a metaphor for the transcendent function, a concept integral to the field of depth psychology.

Horwitz, Stanley Edwin. "Positive work-family spillover amongst white-collar employees." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5867.

Yancy, Nina M. "Class along the color line." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2018. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:abc1e87b-5984-4ec2-a0d7-cdd0fdb451dd.

Riley, Sarah Duncan. "Color characteristics of the natural environment : a case study /." Thesis, This resource online, 1993. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-09192009-040528/.

Turner, Hannah L. "Quantification of product color preference in a utility function." Diss., Rolla, Mo. : Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2010. http://scholarsmine.mst.edu/thesis/pdf/Turner_09007dcc8078c48d.pdf.

Pryor, Erin M. "Interracial Romantic Coupling and the Color Line: Color-Blind Ideology Among Black-White Couples." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1279226222.

Redmann, Alexandra [Verfasser], Peter [Gutachter] Indefrey, and Katja [Gutachter] Biermann-Ruben. "Colour in concepts: Accessing conceptual components in language production / Alexandra Redmann ; Gutachter: Peter Indefrey, Katja Biermann-Ruben." Düsseldorf : Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 2020. http://d-nb.info/1213971640/34.

Alvarez, Bryan Dean. "Behavioral and brain mechanisms of grapheme-color synesthesia and their relationships with perceptual binding and visual imagery." Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3616537.

Synesthesia is an unusual blending of the senses that occurs in about four percent or more of the human population. Much effort has been devoted to establishing criteria to define what synesthesia is ever since the phenomenon reemerged as a fascination within the scientific community in the late 1970s. To date, the most common criteria for synesthesia are that synesthetic experiences be automatic, consistent, rely on an external stimulus that triggers the phenomenological experience, and that this experience is fully conscious to the mind. This framework allows for some differentiation of synesthetes compared to non-synesthetes within the human population, and yet it also creates a self-selecting bias in the synesthetic population; if the scientific community defines criteria for synesthesia, and then only studies people whom fit those criteria, the resulting data will likely validate the definitions if only because they have been defined that way. What is left unknown are ways that synesthetes, as a community of otherwise normal human beings, vary in subtle ways, both in their psychophysical behavior and in their neurobiological form and function in relation to other human beings who do not experience any form of conscious, unusual sensory blendings yet defined as synesthesia.

The studies described in this thesis explore whether perception in the population of individuals currently defined as synesthetes is in fact uniquely different from perception in the rest of the human population. These unique differences in perception are also used here to better inform our understanding of the functions of the human brain. Chapter 2 introduces the concept of perceptual binding and its relation to synesthesia. Some synesthetes experience colors that are associated with letters and numbers, and these so-called grapheme-color synesthetes may rely on similar brain mechanisms to bind their synesthetic colors to space as the ones they (and most humans) use to bind color to space normally. Chapter 3 addresses the question of binding with regard to an unusual phenomenon specific to grapheme-color synesthetes: that it is possible for some of these synesthetes to experience two colors that are spatially co-localized without blending. The results of this behavioral study will be shown to correlate with the vividness of visual imagery, a measure that extends beyond synesthetic phenomenology. Finally, Chapter 4 demonstrates how synesthetes differ from well-matched non-synesthetes in relation to behavior and the anatomy of the brain. Specifically, synesthetes have more vivid visual imagery as a population, more arborized white matter, and show a positive correlation between vivid imagery and increased axonal branching that is absent in non-synesthete controls. Together, these studies suggest that the brains of synesthetes rely on attention-specific mechanisms used by most humans to bind color to space. However, synesthesia as a whole may not simply be one end of a continuum of brain differences. Rather, synesthetes may be unique both in their phenomenological experiences of the world, and in some ways, the organization of the brain that creates them.

Duong-Killer, Jane. "Suicide prevention training| Its impact on college students of color." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1595765.

The purpose of this quantitative study is to investigate whether QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention training is effective in increasing knowledge of suicide prevention among students of color, specifically Latino/a, Asian American, and Black/African American college students. This study involves secondary data analysis of 502 students who participated in a QPR training from Fall 2012 to Fall 2014. The data was collected by a suicide prevention program in Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at a public university in Southern California. The findings of the study revealed statistical significance in all nine areas of knowledge for all participants before and after receiving QPR training. The findings indicate an increase in knowledge among students of color and the likelihood that the participants would approach someone who may be at-risk for suicide and assist the individual in seeking appropriate professional resources. Implications, recommendations for practice, and directions for future research are discussed.

Garbers, Christian [Verfasser], and Thomas [Akademischer Betreuer] Wachtler. "Color vision in polychromatic animals / Christian Garbers ; Betreuer: Thomas Wachtler." München : Universitätsbibliothek der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 2016. http://d-nb.info/1129598322/34.

Color Psychology

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Chromotherapy ; Psychological impact of color

Color psychology refers to a branch of study which postulates that color has a range of psychological or behavioral responses.

Color psychology and color therapy exist on the periphery of alternative medicine and are generally not accepted under the auspices of mainstream medical science and psychology. Despite this, a plethora of articles can be found in mainstream and digital media that discuss a link between color and a range of psychological, cognitive, biological, and behavioral effects. While it is often promoted that such a link exists on a universal, causal basis by some sectors of the media, there is minimal evidence to support this hypothesis. Furthermore, there are a number of factors that influence color and human response, and these include individual differences (such as age, gender, affective state, belief systems, and environmental stimuli screening ability), social and cultural differences, as...

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O’Connor, Z. (2021). Color Psychology. In: Shamey, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_228-2

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Color Psychology Research Paper

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Dr Nawaz Ahmad

The purpose of present research is to identify variety of meanings imparted by colors and its effects on emotions and moods. Traditional literature is linguistically intertwined with explication of colors and their meanings spurring from imaginative spheres of human mind to determine their moods. The present study delves deep into psycholinguistic perspectives of color, mood and language and thus invites causal profile of exploration. Communicative qualities of colors strengthen their grounds on the basis of cultural, social, historical, affective, political and linguistic compasses therefore interpret a variety of connotations having expressed in the form of moods. In this study, survey technique was employed through questionnaires to gather relevant information. Both closed-ended and open-ended questions were included to ensure validity. Data were gathered from a random sample of 100 respondents including males and females. Non-Probability Quota sampling technique and statistical analysis were used for analyses. The questionnaires were distributed in Pakistani academic institutions. This reveals that colors convey different connotations which are expressed by means of language and types of moods.

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In this experimental study, the researchers seek to find out whether the red color of light has a significant effect on the mood of person. The researchers used between subjects design with the independent groups. The subject were obtained from twenty (20) using ten (10) subjects were randomly assigned to the control group while ten (10) subjects were similarly assigned to the experimental group. The Mood Self-Assessment test was administered in the subjects. Using t-test on the data obtained a t-value of 1.11 was yielded. At 0.5 level of significance, the t-critical is 2.101. Because t-value is lower than the t-critical, the researchers found no significant difference between the scores of the control and experimental groups. Therefore, it was inferred that the color has no significant effect on the mood of the subjects.

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MINI REVIEW article

Color and psychological functioning: a review of theoretical and empirical work.

• Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

In the past decade there has been increased interest in research on color and psychological functioning. Important advances have been made in theoretical work and empirical work, but there are also important weaknesses in both areas that must be addressed for the literature to continue to develop apace. In this article, I provide brief theoretical and empirical reviews of research in this area, in each instance beginning with a historical background and recent advancements, and proceeding to an evaluation focused on weaknesses that provide guidelines for future research. I conclude by reiterating that the literature on color and psychological functioning is at a nascent stage of development, and by recommending patience and prudence regarding conclusions about theory, findings, and real-world application.

The past decade has seen enhanced interest in research in the area of color and psychological functioning. Progress has been made on both theoretical and empirical fronts, but there are also weaknesses on both of these fronts that must be attended to for this research area to continue to make progress. In the following, I briefly review both advances and weaknesses in the literature on color and psychological functioning.

Theoretical Work

Background and recent developments.

Color has fascinated scholars for millennia ( Sloane, 1991 ; Gage, 1993 ). Theorizing on color and psychological functioning has been present since Goethe (1810) penned his Theory of Colors , in which he linked color categories (e.g., the “plus” colors of yellow, red–yellow, yellow–red) to emotional responding (e.g., warmth, excitement). Goldstein (1942) expanded on Goethe’s intuitions, positing that certain colors (e.g., red, yellow) produce systematic physiological reactions manifest in emotional experience (e.g., negative arousal), cognitive orientation (e.g., outward focus), and overt action (e.g., forceful behavior). Subsequent theorizing derived from Goldstein’s ideas has focused on wavelength, positing that longer wavelength colors feel arousing or warm, whereas shorter wavelength colors feel relaxing or cool ( Nakashian, 1964 ; Crowley, 1993 ). Other conceptual statements about color and psychological functioning have focused on general associations that people have to colors and their corresponding influence on downstream affect, cognition, and behavior (e.g., black is associated with aggression and elicits aggressive behavior; Frank and Gilovich, 1988 ; Soldat et al., 1997 ). Finally, much writing on color and psychological functioning has been completely atheoretical, focused exclusively on finding answers to applied questions (e.g., “What wall color facilitates worker alertness and productivity?”). The aforementioned theories and conceptual statements continue to motivate research on color and psychological functioning. However, several other promising theoretical frameworks have also emerged in the past decade, and I review these frameworks in the following.

Hill and Barton (2005) noted that in many non-human animals, including primate species, dominance in aggressive encounters (i.e., superior physical condition) is signaled by the bright red of oxygenated blood visible on highly vascularized bare skin. Artificial red (e.g., on leg bands) has likewise been shown to signal dominance in non-human animals, mimicking the natural physiological process ( Cuthill et al., 1997 ). In humans in aggressive encounters, a testosterone surge produces visible reddening on the face and fear leads to pallor ( Drummond and Quay, 2001 ; Levenson, 2003 ). Hill and Barton (2005) posited that the parallel between humans and non-humans present at the physiological level may extend to artificial stimuli, such that wearing red in sport contests may convey dominance and lead to a competitive advantage.

Other theorists have also utilized a comparative approach in positing links between skin coloration and the evaluation of conspecifics. Changizi et al. (2006) and Changizi (2009) contend that trichromatic vision evolved to enable primates, including humans, to detect subtle changes in blood flow beneath the skin that carry important information about the emotional state of the conspecific. Increased red can convey anger, embarrassment, or sexual arousal, whereas increased bluish or greenish tint can convey illness or poor physiological condition. Thus, visual sensitivity to these color modulations facilitates various forms of social interaction. In similar fashion, Stephen et al. (2009) and Stephen and McKeegan (2010) propose that perceivers use information about skin coloration (perhaps particularly from the face, Tan and Stephen, 2012 ) to make inferences about the attractiveness, health, and dominance of conspecifics. Redness (from blood oxygenization) and yellowness (from carotenoids) are both seen as facilitating positive judgments. Fink et al. (2006) and Fink and Matts (2007) posit that the homogeneity of skin coloration is an important factor in evaluating the age, attractiveness, and health of faces.

Elliot and Maier (2012) have proposed color-in-context theory, which draws on social learning, as well as biology. Some responses to color stimuli are presumed to be solely due to the repeated pairing of color and particular concepts, messages, and experiences. Others, however, are presumed to represent a biologically engrained predisposition that is reinforced and shaped by social learning. Through this social learning, color associations can be extended beyond natural bodily processes (e.g., blood flow modulations) to objects in close proximity to the body (e.g., clothes, accessories). Thus, for example, red may not only increase attractiveness evaluations when viewed on the face, but also when viewed on a shirt or dress. As implied by the name of the theory, the physical and psychological context in which color is perceived is thought to influence its meaning and, accordingly, responses to it. Thus, blue on a ribbon is positive (indicating first place), but blue on a piece of meat is negative (indicating rotten), and a red shirt may enhance the attractiveness of a potential mate (red = sex/romance), but not of a person evaluating one’s competence (red = failure/danger).

Meier and Robinson (2005) and Meier (in press ) have posited a conceptual metaphor theory of color. From this perspective, people talk and think about abstract concepts in concrete terms grounded in perceptual experience (i.e., they use metaphors) to help them understand and navigate their social world ( Lakoff and Johnson, 1999 ). Thus, anger entails reddening of the face, so anger is metaphorically described as “seeing red,” and positive emotions and experiences are often depicted in terms of lightness (rather than darkness), so lightness is metaphorically linked to good (“seeing the light”) rather than bad (“in the dark”). These metaphoric associations are presumed to have implications for important outcomes such as morality judgments (e.g., white things are viewed as pure) and stereotyping (e.g., dark faces are viewed more negatively).

For many years it has been known that light directly influences physiology and increases arousal (see Cajochen, 2007 , for a review), but recently theorists have posited that such effects are wavelength dependent. Blue light, in particular, is posited to activate the melanopsin photoreceptor system which, in turn, activates the brain structures involved in sub-cortical arousal and higher-order attentional processing ( Cajochen et al., 2005 ; Lockley et al., 2006 ). As such, exposure to blue light is expected to facilitate alertness and enhance performance on tasks requiring sustained attention.

Evaluation and Recommendations

Drawing on recent theorizing in evolutionary psychology, emotion science, retinal physiology, person perception, and social cognition, the aforementioned conceptualizations represent important advances to the literature on color and psychological functioning. Nevertheless, theory in this area remains at a nascent level of development, and the following weaknesses may be identified.

First, the focus of theoretical work in this area is either extremely specific or extremely general. A precise conceptual proposition such as red signals dominance and leads to competitive advantage in sports ( Hill and Barton, 2005 ) is valuable in that it can be directly translated into a clear, testable hypothesis; however, it is not clear how this specific hypothesis connects to a broader understanding of color–performance relations in achievement settings more generally. On the other end of the spectrum, a general conceptualization such as color-in-context theory ( Elliot and Maier, 2012 ) is valuable in that it offers several widely applicable premises; however, these premises are only vaguely suggestive of precise hypotheses in specific contexts. What is needed are mid-level theoretical frameworks that comprehensively, yet precisely explain and predict links between color and psychological functioning in specific contexts (for emerging developments, see Pazda and Greitemeyer, in press ; Spence, in press ; Stephen and Perrett, in press ).

Second, the extant theoretical work is limited in scope in terms of range of hues, range of color properties, and direction of influence. Most theorizing has focused on one hue, red, which is understandable given its prominence in nature, on the body, and in society ( Changizi, 2009 ; Elliot and Maier, 2014 ); however, other hues also carry important associations that undoubtedly have downstream effects (e.g., blue: Labrecque and Milne, 2012 ; green: Akers et al., 2012 ). Color has three basic properties: hue, lightness, and chroma ( Fairchild, 2013 ). Variation in any or all of these properties could influence downstream affect, cognition, or behavior, yet only hue is considered in most theorizing (most likely because experientially, it is the most salient color property). Lightness and chroma also undoubtedly have implications for psychological functioning (e.g., lightness: Kareklas et al., 2014 ; chroma: Lee et al., 2013 ); lightness has received some attention within conceptual metaphor theory ( Meier, in press ; see also Prado-León and Rosales-Cinco, 2011 ), but chroma has been almost entirely overlooked, as has the issue of combinations of hue, lightness, and chroma. Finally, most theorizing has focused on color as an independent variable rather than a dependent variable; however, it is also likely that many situational and intrapersonal factors influence color perception (e.g., situational: Bubl et al., 2009 ; intrapersonal: Fetterman et al., 2015 ).

Third, theorizing to date has focused primarily on main effects, with only a modicum of attention allocated to the important issue of moderation. As research literatures develop and mature, they progress from a sole focus on “is” questions (“Does X influence Y?”) to additionally considering “when” questions (“Under what conditions does X influence Y and under what conditions does X not influence Y?”). These “second generation” questions ( Zanna and Fazio, 1982 , p. 283) can seem less exciting and even deflating in that they posit boundary conditions that constrain the generalizability of an effect. Nevertheless, this step is invaluable in that it adds conceptual precision and clarity, and begins to address the issue of real-world applicability. All color effects undoubtedly depend on certain conditions – culture, gender, age, type of task, variant of color, etc. – and acquiring an understanding of these conditions will represent an important marker of maturity for this literature (for movement in this direction, see Schwarz and Singer, 2013 ; Tracy and Beall, 2014 ; Bertrams et al., 2015 ; Buechner et al., in press ; Young, in press ). Another, more succinct, way to state this third weakness is that theorizing in this area needs to take context, in all its forms, more seriously.

Empirical Work

Empirical work on color and psychological functioning dates back to the late 19th century ( Féré, 1887 ; see Pressey, 1921 , for a review). A consistent feature of this work, from its inception to the past decade, is that it has been fraught with major methodological problems that have precluded rigorous testing and clear interpretation ( O’Connor, 2011 ). One problem has been a failure to attend to rudimentary scientific procedures such as experimenter blindness to condition, identifying, and excluding color deficient participants, and standardizing the duration of color presentation or exposure. Another problem has been a failure to specify and control for color at the spectral level in manipulations. Without such specification, it is impossible to know what precise combination of color properties was investigated, and without such control, the confounding of focal and non-focal color properties is inevitable ( Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1990 ; Valdez and Mehrabian, 1994 ). Yet another problem has been the use of underpowered samples. This problem, shared across scientific disciplines ( Maxwell, 2004 ), can lead to Type I errors, Type II errors, and inflated effect sizes ( Fraley and Vazire, 2014 ; Murayama et al., 2014 ). Together, these methodological problems have greatly hampered progress in this area.

Although some of the aforementioned problems remain (see “Evaluation and Recommendations” below), others have been rectified in recent work. This, coupled with advances in theory development, has led to a surge in empirical activity. In the following, I review the diverse areas in which color work has been conducted in the past decade, and the findings that have emerged. Space considerations require me to constrain this review to a brief mention of central findings within each area. I focus on findings with humans (for reviews of research with non-human animals, see Higham and Winters, in press ; Setchell, in press ) that have been obtained in multiple (at least five) independent labs. Table 1 provides a summary, as well as representative examples and specific references.

TABLE 1. Research on color and psychological functioning.

In research on color and selective attention, red stimuli have been shown to receive an attentional advantage (see Folk, in press , for a review). Research on color and alertness has shown that blue light increases subjective alertness and performance on attention-based tasks (see Chellappa et al., 2011 , for a review). Studies on color and athletic performance have linked wearing red to better performance and perceived performance in sport competitions and tasks (see Maier et al., in press , for a review). In research on color and intellectual performance, viewing red prior to a challenging cognitive task has been shown to undermine performance (see Shi et al., 2015 , for a review). Research focused on color and aggressiveness/dominance evaluation has shown that viewing red on self or other increases appraisals of aggressiveness and dominance (see Krenn, 2014 , for a review). Empirical work on color and avoidance motivation has linked viewing red in achievement contexts to increased caution and avoidance (see Elliot and Maier, 2014 , for a review). In research on color and attraction, viewing red on or near a female has been shown to enhance attraction in heterosexual males (see Pazda and Greitemeyer, in press , for a review). Research on color and store/company evaluation has shown that blue on stores/logos increases quality and trustworthiness appraisals (see Labrecque and Milne, 2012 , for a review). Finally, empirical work on color and eating/drinking has shown that red influences food and beverage perception and consumption (see Spence, in press , for a review).

The aforementioned findings represent important contributions to the literature on color and psychological functioning, and highlight the multidisciplinary nature of research in this area. Nevertheless, much like the extant theoretical work, the extant empirical work remains at a nascent level of development, due, in part, to the following weaknesses.

First, although in some research in this area color properties are controlled for at the spectral level, in most research it (still) is not. Color control is typically done improperly at the device (rather than the spectral) level, is impossible to implement (e.g., in web-based platform studies), or is ignored altogether. Color control is admittedly difficult, as it requires technical equipment for color assessment and presentation, as well as the expertise to use it. Nevertheless, careful color control is essential if systematic scientific work is to be conducted in this area. Findings from uncontrolled research can be informative in initial explorations of color hypotheses, but such work is inherently fraught with interpretational ambiguity ( Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1990 ; Elliot and Maier, 2014 ) that must be subsequently addressed.

Second, color perception is not only a function of lightness, chroma, and hue, but also of factors such as viewing distance and angle, amount and type of ambient light, and presence of other colors in the immediate background and general environmental surround ( Hunt and Pointer, 2011 ; Brainard and Radonjić, 2014 ; Fairchild, 2015 ). In basic color science research (e.g., on color physics, color physiology, color appearance modeling, etcetera; see Gegenfurtner and Ennis, in press ; Johnson, in press ; Stockman and Brainard, in press ), these factors are carefully specified and controlled for in order to establish standardized participant viewing conditions. These factors have been largely ignored and allowed to vary in research on color and psychological functioning, with unknown consequences. An important next step for research in this area is to move to incorporate these more rigorous standardization procedures widely utilized by basic color scientists. With regard to both this and the aforementioned weakness, it should be acknowledged that exact and complete control is not actually possible in color research, given the multitude of factors that influence color perception ( Committee on Colorimetry of the Optical Society of America, 1953 ) and our current level of knowledge about and ability to control them ( Fairchild, 2015 ). As such, the standard that must be embraced and used as a guideline in this work is to control color properties and viewing conditions to the extent possible given current technology, and to keep up with advances in the field that will increasingly afford more precise and efficient color management.

Third, although in some research in this area, large, fully powered samples are used, much of the research remains underpowered. This is a problem in general, but it is particularly a problem when the initial demonstration of an effect is underpowered (e.g., Elliot and Niesta, 2008 ), because initial work is often used as a guide for determining sample size in subsequent work (both heuristically and via power analysis). Underpowered samples commonly produce overestimated effect size estimates ( Ioannidis, 2008 ), and basing subsequent sample sizes on such estimates simply perpetuates the problem. Small sample sizes can also lead researchers to prematurely conclude that a hypothesis is disconfirmed, overlooking a potentially important advance ( Murayama et al., 2014 ). Findings from small sampled studies should be considered preliminary; running large sampled studies with carefully controlled color stimuli is essential if a robust scientific literature is to be developed. Furthermore, as the “evidentiary value movement” ( Finkel et al., 2015 ) makes inroads in the empirical sciences, color scientists would do well to be at the leading edge of implementing such rigorous practices as publically archiving research materials and data, designating exploratory from confirmatory analyses, supplementing or even replacing significant testing with “new statistics” ( Cumming, 2014 ), and even preregistering research protocols and analyses (see Finkel et al., 2015 , for an overview).

In both reviewing advances in and identifying weaknesses of the literature on color and psychological functioning, it is important to bear in mind that the existing theoretical and empirical work is at an early stage of development. It is premature to offer any bold theoretical statements, definitive empirical pronouncements, or impassioned calls for application; rather, it is best to be patient and to humbly acknowledge that color psychology is a uniquely complex area of inquiry ( Kuehni, 2012 ; Fairchild, 2013 ) that is only beginning to come into its own. Findings from color research can be provocative and media friendly, and the public (and the field as well) can be tempted to reach conclusions before the science is fully in place. There is considerable promise in research on color and psychological functioning, but considerably more theoretical and empirical work needs to be done before the full extent of this promise can be discerned and, hopefully, fulfilled.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Keywords : color, psychological functioning, hue, lightness, chroma

Citation: Elliot AJ (2015) Color and psychological functioning: a review of theoretical and empirical work. Front. Psychol. 6:368. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00368

Received: 25 November 2014; Accepted: 16 March 2015; Published online: 02 April 2015.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2015 Elliot. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Andrew J. Elliot, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Intercampus Drive, Rochester, NY 14627, USA [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Color Me Calm: Uniquely Colorful Strategies to Reduce Stress

Calm your mind and body with these quick and colorful stress-reducing tools..

Posted May 13, 2024 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• What Is Stress?
• Find a therapist to overcome stress
• A common problem voiced by high achievers is how to fit in time for mental and physical rejuvenation.
• The visualization of colors has been found to help calm the mind and body.
• Visualization exercises give us respite from a stressful environment.

High achievers, by nature, often purposefully put themselves in situations where new challenges pop up unexpectedly around every corner. While these challenges are often experienced as exhilarating and motivating, they can also be exhausting and depleting if not balanced by activities that calm the mind and body. However, a common problem voiced by high achievers is how to fit in time for mental and physical rejuvenation with such busy schedules.

In past PT posts, I've strongly encouraged scheduling stress reduction activities directly into your calendar to prevent the harmful effects of chronic stress and eventual burnout . While I continue to encourage these very important career - and life-saving strategies, there also are effective stress-relieving exercises that you can do during a quick break or even while at your desk to reduce mental and physical tension and give you the extra boost you need to get you through a hectic, stress-filled day.

Here are three uniquely colorful ones...

For each of these exercises:

• Find a comfortable place to sit, preferably with your back supported by a chair or wall.
• Close your eyes, or if you prefer, focus on a spot across from or below you.
• Relax and release any obvious tension you feel in your body.
• Take three deep breaths, drawing air in through your nose to fill your lungs and releasing it through your mouth, before starting the visualization .

Color Me Calm

The visualization of colors has been found to help calm the mind and body without necessarily eliciting any associated, distracting thoughts (Professional Quality of Life). This simple visualization exercise begins with red and moves through the color spectrum. However, if a particular color is a trigger or unsettling to you, simply skip that color. On the other hand, if you find a specific color especially calming, you may want to spend more time with it.

Begin by visualizing the color red. Once you get that image settled into your mind, transition to the many different shades of red (dark, light, bright, pale); then choose your favorite shade and allow it to circulate through your mind until your mind is completely immersed in it. Slowly transition from red to orange, again visualizing it in its many hues, then settle on your favorite shade and let it fill your mind. Continue this exercise in the same manner, moving from orange, to yellow, to green, to blue, to purple, then slowly allow the purple to fade to a clean white. As you continue to breathe deeply, visualize the white spreading throughout your entire body, giving it the power to cleanse away any lingering tension or negativity and replace it with calm, positive energy. When you're ready, finish with three deep breaths, open your eyes (or end your focal point), and give yourself a moment to reorient to your actual space while maintaining a relaxed vibe for the remainder of your day.

Light, Bright, and White

Often called white light or protective light visualization, this visualization is used as a tension-reducing shield, often against feelings of vulnerability, fear , pain, or even trauma . Different guides for this visualization provide different starting points on the body, including the head, feet, or stomach.

Wherever you choose to start (I'll use the feet for this example), begin by imagining a white light of strong, positive energy beginning in the arches of your feet. With each deep breath, imagine the light spreading through your toes, circulating back up through your feet, into your ankles, and up your legs, removing all of the negative energy as it moves through your body. As the light moves into your upper body, imagine breathing in the light, allowing it to grow and strengthen as it moves into your upper chest, neck, face, then head. When it enters your head, imagine the energized light washing through your mind, cleansing it of negative thoughts and energy. When that's done, visualize that clean white light leaving through the top of your head and creating an impenetrable, protective shield that surrounds your entire body, creating a barrier to negative energy and providing you with a bubble in which you can breathe in and enjoy the peaceful, calm, and powerful energy you've created. When ready, take three deep breaths, open your eyes (or end your focal point), and keep this imagined shield as your protection from negative energy throughout the rest of your day.

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

This visualization is a good way to refresh and reinvigorate a depleted body and mind. Start by choosing a visual location that you find to be especially peaceful, beautiful, or calming. The selection of this location is uniquely personal. For some, it may be a body of water; for others, it may be the mountains or a forest; or it may be a visual memory of a place that has meaning only to you. However, to get the full benefit of this exercise, it should be a peace-inducing place that you can mentally move around and explore.

Once you select the location, imagine yourself in that place. Use all of your senses to experience it. If it's a place in nature, experience how the earth feels under your feet. What sounds do your feet make as you walk across it? What other sounds do you hear? Birds singing, waves crashing on the shoreline, wind passing through leaves on the trees? If it's sunny, imagine the sunshine gently warming your skin; if it's dark, feel the pleasant coolness on your skin. As you breathe in, focus on the smells surrounding you, whether it's the fresh clean air of the mountains; the scent of rain in a forest; or the smell of something delicious baking in the oven. Do you have any particular tastes in your mouth, such as salt from the ocean or the familiar scent of someone you love? As you slowly move through the visual with all of your senses, focus on the peacefulness of the setting, then visualize your worries, tension, and stress falling behind you and allow yourself to experience the lightness of that feeling. Then focus on the beautiful mixtures of colors and textures surrounding you—the sky, earth, rocks, plants, leaves, water, animals—bringing all of these sensory experiences together so that you feel fully supported and at peace in this location. Then locate the specific place or thing that you love most about the space and sit next to it, using all of your senses to notice every detail you can about it. Stay as long as you want in this safe and protected space, then when you're ready, take three deep breaths, slowly open your eyes (or end your focal point), and give yourself a moment to orient back to your actual location while keeping that sense of safety and peacefulness with you throughout the remainder of your day.

While the three visualizations I selected for this post were purposefully chosen to be colorful, any type of calming visualization exercise should do the trick because the purpose of visualization is to break the vicious cycle of tension in our bodies leading to that tension being received by our brains and experienced as mental stress

Because visualization exercises give us respite from a stressful environment, they can be especially effective when our physical surroundings are contributing to our feelings of stress. So the next time you're feeling the pressure of your high-achieving spaces and places, try these quick and easy tension reducers to get you through the challenges that often lead to high stress levels and eventual burnout.

Professional Quality of Life. (Not dated.) Visualization. Visualization | ProQOL

Sherrie Bourg Carter, Psy.D. , psychologist and author of "High Octane Women: How Superachievers Can Avoid Burnout," specializes in the area of women and stress.

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8 shades you should add to your wardrobe, according to an expert in color psychology

• Business Insider asked a color-psychology expert to share the benefits of wearing certain colors .
• Wearing magenta can make you feel bolder when you're in need of a confidence boost.
• The expert also said shades of green and orange were associated with feelings of balance.

Color analysis has blown up on TikTok , with users discussing how colors may affect your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual state.

Business Insider spoke with Michelle Lewis, an expert in color psychology and the founder of The Color Cure , about the benefits of adding specific colors to your wardrobe .

Wearing red may be able to boost your energy.

Lewis said red was the color of action and physicality, and that wearing it could give you energy when you're feeling exhausted or need an extra kick for a long day. 

"It's the psychological primary color of the body, so it can help us wake up, keep our attention, and even increase our heart rate," she told BI. "I like to wear this color when I'm really fatigued."

Red can also be a great color to wear when you need to keep things highly energized, like when you're working out.

Shades of orange tend to make people feel balanced.

If you're looking for balance in your daily life, orange is definitely the color to wear, according to Lewis.

Orange hues are most associated with a familiar home environment and may be able to keep the body calm and balanced.

"Since our body takes in orange light with a sunrise that helps wake everything up in a calm way, I like to use orange on high-stress days with a cozy sweatshirt," Lewis told BI.

Shades of yellow are associated with joy and hope.

According to Lewis, wearing yellow can make you feel happier .

"As the color that makes the rods and cones of our eyes the most excited, yellow is the psychological primary color of the nervous system," Lewis said. "It can help us feel joyful, hopeful, or even help us focus more on our future."

Yellow can be great to use when you want to add a pop of color to an outfit.

Adding blue to your wardrobe can inspire relaxation.

Lewis said blue is the psychological primary color of the mind. According to the expert, wearing it may help bring down your heart rate and blood pressure.

Lighter shades of blue can have calming effects, often making people think of vacations. Darker blues can bring about deeper thoughts, which can also promote stillness and relaxation.

"It's an incredible color that can also make people feel more trust with you, so it's perfect to wear at work when meeting a new client or to calm a stressful situation," Lewis told BI.

Pink clothing can inspire comfort and softness.

Pink is a color of comfort and softness, Lewis said.

This makes it a good wardrobe choice when you want to feel comfortable and soft. It's also helpful when tapping into the more feminine side of things, the expert added. 

Shades of green can promote a state of equilibrium.

For calming effects, you may want to incorporate more green into your wardrobe.

"Green is the psychological primary color that balances the other three: red, yellow, and blue," Lewis told BI.

In other words, green has the power to evoke numerous feelings in the body, which can bring people to a state of homeostasis.

"Too stressed? It will calm you. Down in the dumps? It will lift you up," she said. "It's a calming color that helps us grow, and I love wearing it."

Colors in the purple family are associated with spirituality and connection.

Lewis said violet was the last color in the visible light spectrum, and it was most associated with spirituality and relationships . Wearing purple can have the power to help people connect to other people or things more deeply.

"I love to wear purple when meeting new people, as it helps form a quick connection," she told BI. "You can also wear it to tap more into your spiritual side."

Wearing magenta tends to make you feel bolder.

"Different from pink, magenta was named after a bloody battle," Lewis told BI, referring to a battle during the Second Italian War of Independence where French and Italian forces defeated Austria in Magenta, Italy. 

She explained that magenta is the color of revolution and helps to spark action on a more energetic level.

"Whether it's to introduce a new concept at work or go out on the town, I like to use magenta to help people feel a bit more bold and revolutionary," the expert said.

This story was originally published in May 2023 and most recently updated on May 16, 2024. 

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Meet Our 2024 Outstanding Graduates

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The San Diego State University College of Education is proud to introduce the students who earned the title of Outstanding Graduate from the Class of 2024, as selected by their department, school or program. Follow @sdsucoe on Instagram to watch video spotlights on our top grads, Commencement highlights and more.

Cindy Acosta

Outstanding Graduate for: School of Teacher Education Program: M.A. in Reading and Literacy Education Most Influential Faculty Members: Katherine Sciurba, Associate Professor, and Mónica Baldonado-Ruiz, Assistant Professor, School of Teacher Education.  

"Reading opens up a lot of things — you can read about science, you can read about history. By focusing on that development we are opening (students') minds to other areas. I want to use books that are relevant to them but also promote consciousness and critical thinking, no matter the age."

Danny Avitia

Outstanding Graduate for: Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (undergraduate) Program: Leadership minor Most Influential Faculty Member: Lisa Gates, Director, Leadership Minor, and Lecturer, Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education

“I'm really passionate about positive change in the community. There's so much negative in the world that I think that we need some change makers. We need some people that are willing to challenge the process and really inspire others to become leaders themselves.”

Renz Mark Cabrera

Outstanding Graduate for: Liberal Studies Program: B.A. in Liberal Studies Most Influential Faculty Member: Michael E. Love, Lecturer, School of Teacher Education

“I recently got accepted into the PELSA program here at SDSU. So after the two years of the program I want to help support students, uplift them and support them in their academic journeys."

Kimberly Magat

Outstanding Graduate for: Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (graduate) Program: M.S. in rehabilitation counseling Most Influential Faculty Members: Toni Saia, Assistant Professor, and Charles Degeneffe, Chair and Professor, Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education

"I'm hoping to make a difference after graduation by becoming a change agent for the disability community. As a future DSPS counselor, I hope to break down a lot of those barriers that our students with disabilities face and just create a more equitable higher education experience."

Maria Martin

Outstanding Graduate for: Department of Special Education Program: M.A. in special education, mild/moderate support needs Most Influential Faculty Member: Paul Luelmo, Associate Professor, Special Education

"I hope that with everything that I've learned, I can maybe one day start implementing and developing programs that we can bring into schools and (say), 'This is how you should teach a student who is bilingual and also has disabilities.'"

Jazzlyn Matthews

Outstanding Graduate for: Department of Counseling and School Psychology Program: Community Based Block Multicultural Community Counseling and Social Justice Education Most Influential Faculty Member: Juan Camarena, Assistant Professor, Counseling and School Psychology

"I identify as a Black woman and I think therapy and counseling has been historically pretty inaccessible to my community. So, I hope to make a change by being a therapist in communities of color, being representation and making therapy accessible and relatable for people in other marginalized communities.”

Naomi Ramirez

Outstanding Graduate for: Joint Ph.D. Program in Education with Claremont Graduate University Most Influential Faculty Member: Marva Cappello, Director, JDP and Professor, School of Teacher Education

"A lot of people think that a Ph.D. is impossible for them, but I want to be that reminder for them. I want them to see that people like me can make it and give them that encouragement. I definitely want to be a professor, tenure track, hopefully here at San Diego State University."

Sandra Diaz Raudales

Outstanding Graduate for: Department of Dual Language and English Learner Education Program: M.A. in Education, Critical Literacy and Social Justice specialization Most Influential Faculty Member: Sera Hernandez, Chair and Associate Professor, Dual Language and English Learner Education

"I'm considered an immigrant and a Dreamer, so being recognized as an Outstanding Graduate is a big deal — not only for myself and my family, but also for representing students who identify like me. Being an educator, having a job and doing this, it's a huge impact on the community. … I'm really thankful for the opportunity."

Alexandria Rivas-Blackwell

Outstanding Graduate for: Department of Child and Family Development (graduate) Program: M.S. in Child Development Most Influential Faculty Member: Idara Essien-Wood, Associate Professor, Child and Family Development

"I've always been very passionate about working with children and in the education field. I believe that education is one thing that no one can take away from you. My goal is to spread the knowledge that I've been given with this degree."

Erin Rivera

Outstanding Graduate for: Department of Educational Leadership Program: M.A. in educational leadership Most Influential Faculty Member: Lila Jenkins, Lecturer, Educational Leadership

"I'm passionate about creating an environment that allows students to feel safe, accepted and enthusiastic about their learning every day. And I'm passionate about creating opportunities for them to acquire academic skills, as well as personal skills, and use those to go forward with their life, finding success."

Emma Torres

Outstanding Graduate for: Liberal Studies, ITEP Pathway Program: B.A. in Liberal Studies plus ITEP Most Influential Faculty Member: Christopher Brum, Liberal Studies Program Coordinator and Associate Professor, Special Education

"I hope to make a difference in the education system with my special education students. I hope they learn to be confident, comfortable and I hope that I can make a change in their lives."

*The undergraduate honoree for the Department of Child and Family Development chose not to be publicly recognized.

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SP2 congratulates 2024 award winners

Authored by: Carson Easterly

Photography by: Carson Easterly

Faculty & Research, Student Life

Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) is pleased to announce the 2024 SP2 Award Winners. SP2 Award recipients will be recognized for their outstanding achievements by Dean Sara S. Bachman at the School’s 2024 Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 18, at the Palestra.

Note: The full SP2 2024 commencement program is available online.

SP2 STUDENT PRIZES AND AWARDS

Hal Levin Award

Husel Husile

This award is presented to meritorious students in the Doctor of Philosophy in Social Welfare program who are continuing the process of completing coursework.

Dr. Ram Cnaan Award

Kristin Lynn Stockard

This award is presented to a meritorious student in the Doctorate in Clinical Social Work program who has completed the third year of coursework.

Wilson Spigner Award for Social Policy Excellence

Kaylin Marleece Henderson

This award is presented to a graduating student in the Master of Science in Social Policy program who has a demonstrated record of intellectual inquiry and academic excellence and who is committed to using research to analyze and shape social policy locally, nationally, and/or globally. The award is named in honor of the Reverend Dr. Welford Robinson Wilson II, and his daughter, Dr. Carol Wilson Spigner, the first faculty director of the MSSP program, who have notably increased equity and equality among people who are often forgotten, through research-based change in policy and organizations.

Excellence in Social Impact Award

Sam Hong-Lien Nguyen

This award is presented to a meritorious graduating student in the Nonprofit Leadership program who has a record of academic excellence and has shown promise in using their talents and knowledge to create positive social impact.

Richard J. Estes Global Citizenship Award

Dorothy Jane Thomas

This award is presented to a graduating international student in the Nonprofit Leadership program who embodies a commitment to social impact, who has a record of academic excellence, and who is committed to using their talents and knowledge to make a difference in the world.

Rosa Wessel Award

Kendall M. Spina

This award is presented to a meritorious graduating student in the Master of Social Work program who is selected based on academic performance and one or more of the following: exemplary student leadership, innovative activities in the field practicum, and exceptional community service.

Dr. Ruth E. Smalley Award in International Social Welfare

Joanna May Moley

This award is presented to a member of the Master of Social Work graduating class who, through their writing, participation in class discussions, and experience, has demonstrated an interest in, and a working knowledge of, the international and cultural dimensions of social work practice, and the application of practice to research.

SP2 Student of Excellence

Jasmine Weiss

SP2 student who has had a positive impact on the SP2 community through their collegiality, service, and community engagement inside and outside of the classroom.

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARDS

The Excellence in Teaching Award is presented to members of the standing and non-standing faculty in recognition of excellence in teaching and mentoring.

Full-Time Faculty

Katherine C. Ledwith, DSW, LCSW

Kate Ledwith, DSW, LCSW is a graduate of both the Master of Social Work and the Doctorate of Social Work programs at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice. She completed her undergraduate work in sociology at Tulane University. Her area of expertise is social work and mental health. Dr. Ledwith has extensive experience working at PENN Behavioral Health as the employee assistance program psychotherapist, providing psychotherapy and case management services using a brief treatment model. Additionally, she performed duties related to crisis management, quality assurance, and program development. Dr. Ledwith played a key role in integrating the Mental Health Parity Act into the current policies and service provisions at Penn Behavioral Health. She also has community mental health experience in Philadelphia. Currently, Dr. Ledwith is in private practice, where she sees outpatient clients for both brief treatment and ongoing psychotherapy. She is a lecturer at SP2 and teaches Advanced Clinical Practice and clinical electives. Her areas of interest include attachment, termination, and the role of social workers in therapeutic relationships.

Noor Toraif, PhD, MA

Dr. Noor Toraif conducts qualitative and mixed methods community-engaged research to understand the experiences of youth and emerging adults at the intersections of the child welfare, juvenile, and criminal legal systems. She is interested in understanding the causes and consequences of multi-system involvement, including the differential impacts for youth, emerging adults, and communities of color. In her current research, Dr. Toraif combines phenomenological methods and administrative data to understand youths’ trajectories into the juvenile legal system and during reentry. Her secondary interests include youth-engaged and youth participatory action research, the developmental impacts of system involvement, social welfare policy impacting youth and families, and social theory.

Throughout her research areas, Dr. Toraif is committed to involving youth and emerging adults as key partners in the research process, both to ground inquiry in their experiences and priorities and to provide them with tools and resources for organizing, advocacy, and policy change.

Dr. Toraif received her PhD from the Boston University School of Social Work, where she was also a Ford Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellow, a Society for Social Work and Research Doctoral Fellow, and a Harvard Rappaport Public Policy Fellow. She earned her MA in child study and human development at Tufts University, specializing in children’s and families’ programs and policies, and graduated from Boston University with a BA in neuroscience and a BA in psychology and philosophy.

Part-Time Lecturers

Flora N. Taylor, PhD

Dr. Flora Taylor passionately advocates for the benefits of experiential learning. She has taught group dynamics, including the dynamics of leadership, power, authority, and group development in many institutions, including Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice, Teachers College of Columbia University, Ashoka University, the William Alanson White Institute, Rutgers University, the Wharton School, and Seton Hall University. Her publications, “Anatomy of a Casualty,” “Building a Multiculturally Competent Practice,” and “Multicultural Competence in Dermatologic Practice” may be obtained upon request.

In addition, Dr. Taylor designs, directs, and staffs many experiential conferences, simulations, and retreats for executives on the dynamics of organizational life using social systems (Power Lab) and group relations methodologies. She is an organizational development consultant, executive coach and group dynamics specialist. She has worked with clients to achieve quantifiable results in their organizations for over 20 years. She brings varied types of experience to her consulting work. She leverages her psychology background along with her group expertise to determine the intervention that best meets the client’s individual and organizational needs.

Dr. Taylor earned her A.B. Cum Laude from Harvard University and her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a licensed psychologist with a specialty adult practice in issues related to work and interpersonal relationships.

Jason Miller, MSW

Jason Miller brings 17 years of experience as a Social Work leader in a variety of nonprofit and community organizations. He received a BSW from Goshen College in 2000 and an MSW in 2006 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice.

Since 2006, Jason has had four executive leadership positions. The first position was at a youth focused non-profit called Youth Connections located in Franklin, Indiana. He was the associate executive director at Youth Connections. From 2009 to 2014, Jason was employed at Bethesda Project as the associate director, clinical services. In this role, Jason provided clinical supervision, agency planning, agency evaluation, and staff training to Bethesda Project’s fourteen homeless/housing/social service programs. From 2014 to 2017, Jason was the executive director of Ready, Willing & Able Philadelphia.

In August 2017, Jason was appointed as the CEO of Families Forward Philadelphia. Families Forward Philadelphia provides emergency shelter and housing to families who lack permanent housing in Philadelphia. In this role, Jason focuses on fundraising, program development, staff supervision, training, evaluation, board management, public relations, government relations, new business ventures, and strategic planning.

He has taught a section of the Social Work Macro Practice class at the University of Pennsylvania since 2010 as a visiting professor. He has also provided Social Work field instruction to BSW and MSW student interns at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and Indiana University.

SP2 COMMUNITY AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR STAFF

This recognition is presented annually to an SP2 staff member who demonstrates a commitment to the SP2 community through service, collegiality, and overall community engagement.

Albert Louie, IT Support Specialist

Albert offers technical support to the School of Social Policy & Practice and its research centers.

PENN MODELS OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS FOR STAFF

The Models of Excellence Award program celebrates the extraordinary achievements of full- and part-time staff across the University’s schools and centers. 

Models of Excellence Program:  Pillars of Excellence Award

Adam Roth-Saks

Adam Roth-Saks, Administrative Director of the Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership Program, is a model leader who advocates not only for his team but also for the entire Penn community. He launched one of the first fully online master’s programs. Adam encourages collaboration and innovation within and across teams and gives everyone a seat at the table.

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Teaching Faculty, Clinical Psychology

• Posted 5 days ago

Antioch University New England

Department: Clinical Psychology, School of Counseling, Psychology and Therapy Classification: Faculty, Full-Time Reports To:  Chair, Clinical Psychology Location:  Antioch University New England location Compensation:  Base $63,000 Start Date: Preferred start date July 2024

The Clinical Psychology Department in the School of Counseling, Psychology, and Therapy at Antioch University New England (AUNE) invites applications for a full-time, Teaching Faculty position of our APA Accredited Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program. This is a full-time, 12-month position that reports to the Chair of the Department.

Position Summary Faculty are expected to demonstrate achievement in the areas of student engagement, scholarly activity, and service, including administrative functions within the department and university. Moreover, strong candidates will contribute to the scholarly, clinical, supervisory, and consultative interests of our program. We seek candidates with the vision and potential to become future program leaders. Opportunities for faculty to allocate up to the equivalent of one day per week to professional practice are also available. Individuals with interest or competency in psychological or neuropsychological assessment, biological bases of behavior, cognitive therapy, or brief therapeutic modalities, and systemic interventions are strongly encouraged to apply.

Qualifications

• Completed an APA-accredited doctoral program in clinical or counseling psychology
• Licensed or license eligible (preferred in NH if desiring to supervise at our training clinic, the Psychological Services Center [PSC])
• Commitment to experiential pedagogies and to social justice

Responsibilities

This position has responsibilities that include but are not limited to:

• Direct instruction of 18 semester hours
• Meet university expectations in scholarship, service, and institutional citizenship
• Engage in program, department, campus, and school/university citizenship
• Engage in ongoing department and program initiatives, particularly related to improvements in pedagogy and student engagement

About the PsyD Program

 AUNE’s PsyD program has been accredited by APA since 1986. We were instrumental in the development of the Practitioner-Scholar model of training as described by the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology and continue to utilize this approach to training. AUNE is renowned for its community of active, engaged, and socially conscious faculty and students. We have 11 dedicated and dynamic full-time faculty, and we seek approximately two dozen students per cohort. Our students complete four years of full-time study, practica, internship, and a dissertation. Our graduates fulfill multiple professional roles as reflective practitioners, integrating our core program values of relationship, evidence-based practice, and social justice and diversity. Moreover, many of our graduates have gone onto leadership, management, advocacy, and other positions that promote organizational and social change.

In addition, the Department of Clinical Psychology enacts its social justice values through its responsivity to the needs of the region and larger society with our training and service centers. Our three training and service centers and projects include the Psychological Services Center , Center for Diversity and Social Justice , and our emphasis in Clinical Health Psychology .

Antioch University New England , one of four campuses, uses a distinctive graduate education pedagogy that mixes rigor with experiential learning and social engagement and has a long-history of social justice initiatives. AUNE is located in beautiful Keene, NH, situated in the picturesque Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire. A small city with well-developed business, social, and educational resources, Keene is well-connected to many parts of New England and Upstate New York—two hours or less by car from several culturally and economically diverse cities, including Albany, NY; Hartford, CT; Boston, MA; Manchester, NH; Burlington, VT; and the Five-College Consortium setting near Amherst, MA.

Antioch University is a singularly accredited, multi-campus, coast-to-coast institution of higher learning that provides learner-centered education to empower students with the knowledge and skills to lead meaningful lives and to advance social, economic, and environmental justice.

Application Instructions

Please include in your application a cover letter, curriculum vita, and three (3) references (contact information only). Samples of scholarly work, including publications, and previous teaching experience are optional.

For more information about this position, contact Dr. Karen Meteyer, Search Committee Chair, at   [email protected] .

Click here to apply. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

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The Coalition for the Common Good provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic or class protected by federal, state or local laws in matters affecting employment or in providing access to programs. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. The CCG complies with all state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Inquiries should be addressed to the Office of Human Resources or the Office of the General Counsel.

Note . The successful candidate for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. 

This position is included in the bargaining unit of Antioch University faculty that is represented by SEIU Local 925. Terms and conditions of employment for bargaining unit positions are subject to change based on collective bargaining.

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• Graduate School of Education and Psychology Newsroom

Mother and Daughter Receive EdDs Together at Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology Commencement 2024

In a rare occurrence, both a mother and daughter will receive the Doctor of Education degree (EdD) in Educational Leadership from Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology Education Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 18, 2024. 

The mother, Rosalyn S. Robinson, 51, has an extensive 23-year career, beginning as an elementary school teacher at Wilder’s Preparatory Academy Charter School in Inglewood, where she subsequently became principal. She now serves as a principal for Aspire Public Schools, a charter school district in Los Angeles. Robinson received her BS degree in Social Science from the University of Houston-Downtown, and her MS in Educational Leadership from National University. Her doctoral studies were an extension of her proven visionary leadership and passionate advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in K-12 education. Robinson says, “DEI is essential to creating an educational environment where every student, staff member, and stakeholder brings unique perspectives, experiences, and skills. DEI impacts classroom instruction by preparing students for a more diverse and interrelated world that empowers them to one day embrace collective action in their communities.”

Daughter Taylor S. Manuel Moore, 30, with 10 years of professional experience, worked as an academic intervention specialist at Wilder’s Preparatory Academy Charter School in Inglewood and later became a school psychologist. Presently, she is a director of Special Education for Inner City Education Foundation Public Schools, a charter school district in Los Angeles. Moore holds a BA degree in Psychology from the University of California, Merced, and an MS degree in School Psychology from National University. Her doctoral studies focused on how school psychologists can advocate for systemic change in schools to benefit black students. She, herself, is a strong advocate for, and supporter of children who face underrepresentation and endure a multitude of challenges within the public schools. “I explicitly advocate for children with disabilities and those of color, and I place a special emphasis on African American students,” says Moore.

Both Dr. Robinson and Dr. Moore reside in Hawthorne, CA. Congratulations to Dr. Rosalyn Robinson and Dr. Taylor Moore on this incredible achievement!

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